Yes, we are apparently on a pancake kick around here. Don’t judge. And actually, I made these partly because I had a lot of ricotta cheese in the fridge that I didn’t want to go bad. But I do think they might be the best pancakes yet.

The combination of the ricotta and whipped egg whites makes them simultaneously creamy, moist, light and fluffy. Yum.

Make sure you really whip the egg whites and then fold them in carefully.

Most pancake recipes tell me to cook things on medium or medium-high heat, but I’ve found that they cook too fast on my burners unless the stove is on low-medium. You want to flip them when little bubbles start bursting on the surface (don’t worry, the first pancake or two is almost always sketchy).

I thought these tasted best with blueberries (which I sorta simmered with some water, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan — would have worked better if I used frozen, but I didn’t have any). Toby liked them best with maple syrup. Either way, let me know what you think!

Lemon-ricotta pancakes (adapted slightly from Serious Eats)
200 grams (scant 1 cup) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of 1 to 2 lemons (depending on how lemony you want them)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
Butter
Fruit or maple syrup

Beat the ricotta with the milk, egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest until smooth. In another bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the ricotta mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently.

Beat the egg whites until they’re stiff, then carefully fold them into the batter.

Melt some butter in a skillet (or coat skillet with cooking spray) over medium heat (depending on your stove). Pour batter into the hot skillet — smooth it out with the back of a spoon if you’d like. When little bubbles start popping on the surface, turn the pancake over and cook until lightly browned.

Serve with fruit or syrup.